'Big Daddy' is an Itsaul Plants selection of H. macrophylla and can be treated as other cultivars of the species(which means winter protection in your Zone, I'm sure). The flower heads on mine are quite large, but never are 12-14" in dia., as advertized. Maybe with generous doses of triplesuperphosphate?
Rb

Thanks for the useful info, Rb! I appreciate it!

Will need winter protection in this zone in order to bloom. Personally, I would get an Endless Summer if you want blue/pink blooms, Annabelle if you want white - both bloom on new wood, no winter protection required.

Thanks, mxk3! I already have 3 Endless Summer that I planted last fall - they are doing really well and I can't wait for them to bloom!

The only thing is, my local nursery has some Big Daddies on sale ($19.99 for a 3 gallon Big Daddy!) so I was just a bit tempted... have you all noticed how expensive Endless Summer has become these days!?

ostrich, ES has always been expensive, unless you can get them on sale or some kind of promo from a retailer. But what are you going to do with a cheap hydrangea that doesn't bloom in your zone? Unless you do have the patience and time to do winter protection on the shrub, you'd never see those blue nor pink blooms. Demand is high so the price is high. In warmer zones, ES is not as popular "must-have" as we do here in colder zones.

Lerissa, you are right - that's why I "splashed out" on my ES last fall! LOL! I knew that I needed something that would tolerate my climate here without me fussing over it with any winter protection....

Anyway, my ES shrubs are doing very well and I just really can't wait until they start blooming!

Ostrich,
I main thing I have noticed about Big Daddy's in gardens are that the blooms are so large and heavy, they are usually flopped over on the ground. Especially after it rains. Apparently the stems just aren't strong enough to hold up the big blooms. For me, the attraction of macro hydrangeas is the intense color of the blooms, not the size. So, I make sure I buy varieties that have strong colors, no pastels.

Many experts state that while you can change the color of the blooms by adjusting the Ph of your soil, you can't change the intensity of the color. I have found this to be true. Hopes this helps.

Here's my favorite that I THINK is either a Genetian Dome or a Merritt's Supreme:

Miriam

My big Daddys do fine in zone 5. I may be a little late, but I would go ahead and buy them if I was you.

Hello, new to the forum. Just purchased a Big Daddy, will be planting it near the foundation of the house. Will mulch with leaves and cover with sheets in Spring, but am wondering if anyone else in northern Indiana has had luck with the Big Daddy?

I just bought a Big Daddy for $20 at the local grocery store. Don't know what I was thinking, as normal hydrangea flower heads droop to the ground in our heavy rains--larger ones will just droop faster and father. But the foliage is beautiful, it had about 5 big blue flower heads, and I can't resist a new hydrangea. I think I'll keep it in a pot and put big peony supports around it.

You've gotten plenty of feedback on potential hardiness so I'll address your last question:

"Also, do you think that flower heads that big (12"-14") are more attractive, or not?"

NOT! It is personal preference of course, but I find most mopheads to be blowzey and overdone. 'Gentian Dome' is an exception but only because it is the bluest of the blue hydrangeas and an almost ethereal color (great photo, Miriam). 'Mme. E. Moulliere' is also very attractive but the smallness of the flowerheads and the purity of the color are her saving grace. Otherwise, give me a lacecap or a panicled flowerhead any day.

You'll all notice I'm new to this forum with all of my questions/comments!
Purchased and planted 4 Big Daddy's last year and DID NOT cover them this year -treated them like the Endless Summers -I have noticed 2 blooms on two differnt plants already. I was a little worried - but they are coming back with blooms this year!!!

I was too busy to cover all 14 of my hydrangeas over winter, and Big Daddy was one that I didnt get to. It is close to my house and protected from the Nothern winds, so I thought it would be okay. No blooms so far. But last summer I didnt see the big blooms, just pretty normal ones.

Miriam I agree the intensity of color and strong stems are the two major traits I look for when I scan the Encyclopedia of Hydrangeas. Lacecaps are fine but look for the same traits.

Genitian Dome
Matilda Gutges
Red Star
Bottstein- Unbelievable color intensity, but slow grower
Bluemeise(sp?)
Nightingale
Fasan

The varirites used for the nursery trade seems to be the nicest, makes sense IMO.

Check out this table:http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-524.pdf

Endless summer nice but the stem are somewhat weak I fine, same thing with PennyMac.

later dave

Very disappointed, I am 20 miles West of Cleveland, Oh. Went to nursery and was told sometime our business gets carried away and sells things that do not grow well here. Have not got 1 flower this year on Big Daddy. Planted near garage North West corner. Endless Summer bloomed from new wood but not from old after I was told to keep old wood. Yikes, does anybody know what they are selling?

Hey, Jackee, I was wondering about Big Daddy (after all, I started the thread 2 years ago! LOL), and many other hydrangeas that are supposed to be hardy to zone 5 too (e.g. Lady in Red etc.). However, I did not trust any of them and so my only macrophylla is my ES. I am so glad that I trusted my instincts because it seems like all of them would not be so great for our zone.

If I need to do any winter protection for any of my macrophyllas, I would just choose something much more beautiful, established and predictable.

Saw Big Daddy and thought I'd check out sites. found this one and its is informative. thank you.
Have question of ES. Do they get taller? Plnted one this year and its blooms fine right from the start. Purple. $25. Just wish it was taller, barely 1 1/2' would like 3' at least. Don't know whether to try Blushing Bride. What about "lime" something or other? Can't rember name.Thanks rancher

I live in Northern Indiana (near Warsaw)... I planted two Big Daddy Hydrangea's last spring. I had beautiful blooms all summer long - I mulched and covered with styrofoam covers and I did not trim old wood. The plants were on the south side of the house. This spring I have some new growth on the southeast hydrangea - but so far, nothing on the southwest. I have just come from Anderson's nursery and am going to try my luck with "Orginal Endless Summer" this year. Honestly, at $39.95 a pop... the summer show is worth every penny. What is the difference in a $39.95 annual 'hydrangea' over a $39.95 hanging basket of petunias.
I love them...and will keep my fingers crossed that the Endless Summer does better than the Big Daddy's... but if I lose these this winter - I'll just replant AGAIN next year!

Here is a link that might be useful: Live Life Zestfully!

Hi Zesty - "Live Life Zestfully" I agree completely!!! I invested on my 5y/o grand daughter's joy, at the sight of a 5ft fully bloomed beauty of a Kyushu tree ... "She looks like a Princess, Mimi, I just have to have her!" Home, we came with our 'Princess Kyu' & never a moment's regret - May 2006! She danced like a graceful ballerina during a tornado grade storm - Jun 2007, survived a heavy ice-storm topped with heavy snow this past Winter (keeled over 45 deg. yanked back into place with straps & stake). Now, she is still her petite 5'2" & fast leafing out!!! Not a 'Splashy Big Daddy' but a zesty Princess that has not failed to fetch "wows" from walkers-by!!!

Try Forever & Ever ... IMO, an improvement on ES ... are quite reliable bloomers w/heftier canes for our testy zone! ES & Big Daddy Hs are all over the place here ... I'd rather have Lace Caps & Paniculatas!

This is my Big Daddy after 3 or 4 years. This is the most flowers it's ever had. Previous years it had 3 or 4 flowers. So now that I have a lot of flowers I'm wondering why they have practically no color at all. They are mostly greenish white, a couple are very pale pink and a couple are very pale blue. Also, I have an Annabelle which is decades old and when it rained all the flowers would be on the ground. I went to HD and bought 4 sections of black metal fence that you just push in the ground and caged the bush. Now the stems grow through the fence openings and it holds the branches up. I am in zone 5 a few houses from lake erie.

I would check the soil acidity (is it neutral?) and moisture (too soggy/wet?). The reason for checking the acidity is years ago or maybe a decade ago, posters showed pictures of a Nikko Blue that did the same for them (an off white or light green color from what I recall) when their soil was near neutral or neutral. Enjoy the blooms! Maybe even use them as mulch in the Fall if you want and the plant does not suffer from fungal infections. What height were those black fences? 2-3' or so? I think I saw something similar at Lowes but they were green and the top wires were bent to form half circles.